#1 Posted: 1/13/2011 5:37:13 PM We’re only a few days removed from the BCS title game, and already I am getting bowl withdrawals.
I am an admitted bowl junkie who’s in denial that the 35-game bowl slate really is over. I keep craving another helping of Beef O’ Brady to cure my appetite, or another Sun Bowl to brighten the bowl-less winter days.
I keep browsing the cable networks in hope that there’s some bowl quadruple-header that I failed to notice in the original schedule. But alas, I haven’t found it yet.
So the next-best thing that came to mind was paying homage to the 2010-11 bowl season by compiling this list of highlights and lowlights that kept us entertained for the past month.
Bowl that most live up to its hype: Rose Bowl between TCU and Wisconsin.
Bowl that least lived up to its hype: The BCS National Title Game (not that it was a bad game, just didn’t quite meet the hype).
Bowl that was surprisingly entertaining: Little Caesars Pizza Bowl between Florida International and Toledo.
Bowl that was predictably entertaining: Sugar Bowl between Ohio State and Arkansas.
Bowl that was surprisingly boring: Holiday Bowl between Washington and Nebraska.
Bowl that was predictably boring: Independence Bowl between Air Force and Georgia Tech.
Bowl team that was surprisingly inspired: Pittsburgh in the Compass Bowl.
Bowl team that was surprisingly uninspired: South Carolina in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
Bowl team that was predictably inspired: Notre Dame in the Sun Bowl.
Bowl team that was predictably uninspired: Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.
Bowl game that was the most surprising mismatch: The Orange Bowl between Stanford and Virginia Tech.
Bowl game that was the least surprising mismatch: Fiesta Bowl between Oklahoma and Connecticut.
Worst beat of the bowl season: Tennessee in the Music City Bowl against North Carolina. (Nothing quite like hearing the official say, “The game is over” … only to find out it’s not.)
Any thoughts about who else should be on the list? There were multiple candidates for each category, but I stuck with one pick for the sake of brevity. What was your best/worst bet of the bowl season?
Best of luck.
|